


the ocean is calm, the tide is at bay

by philliebf



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: < my inspo song, Afterlife, Apocalypse, Character Death, Death, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Pandemics, Phandom Fic Fests: Valentine's Day, Retrospective, Reunions, Song: In A Week (Hozier), a little bit up for interpretation, also just lowkey thats why everyones dying, this is uhhhh, tw both dan and phil die but they are reunited and Not Dead in the afterlife.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 03:55:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17738552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/philliebf/pseuds/philliebf
Summary: death has welcomed himself in so many homes all over the world. if he ever came knocking on dan and phil's door, they promised they would meet by the ocean where their love would continue after a reckless date with death.





	the ocean is calm, the tide is at bay

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ordanary](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ordanary/gifts).



> uhh spoilers but also TW 
> 
> both dan and phil die !!!! as this alludes to a global pandemic !!! the whole thing is they have a date with death, and then a date with each other on the beach as they start their forever!! 
> 
> also super happy belated bday to my bff this is dedicated to karly for being an amazing writer motivator and best friend
> 
> thank you for reading you can reblog this here

The way his feet land on the soft soil brings a sense of longing and comfort. It reminds him that he is here, and there is a purpose. Even though his purpose may be lost, the soil reminds him it is there. It reminds him to exist as himself and without another. 

 

The soil catches between his toes and he feels the way it surrounds him. It is warm, it’s damp, and it’s alive. First, he sits, he lets the water seep into his pant legs. He watches the forest around him move. He’s safe from the world here. Surrounded by the comfort of the ever-changing trees. The way they move in the wind. Dan sways with them, letting the earth seep into him as his clock ticks to a soft and welcomed end. 

 

It counts down etching ever closer to zero. A gust of wind blows, his hair falls in his face but he welcomes it. He feels the soil and the wind, he welcomes what little bits of life he has left. He welcomes the end, as he knows it’s a new beginning. He will be welcomed to the arms of so many he’s already lost. His pain is relative, everyone has lost something, someone. Death has knocked on so many doors, he has not been kind, nor quiet. 

 

Death came knocking whenever it was convenient for him. He was dark and moved slowly, dragging an aura of dread and depression around him. So many people welcomed him to their home, made him a cup of tea and asked him to be kind and gentle and to leave silently as if he was never there. Death looted and pilfered in every home to which he came, made it very clear where he had marked. It felt like he had done it in a day, but it was weeks, months even until someone noticed how many doors Death had closed behind himself. People learned he starts by holding your hand, he speaks softly to the one he wishes to claim, he marks them as his own, and they lose themselves to the earth. Death claims them as his own and brings them home. 

 

Dan often felt he was one of the only people spared, but death came knocking after the January new moon. It was in the middle of the day the sun was shining bright, yet there was a harsh cold spell that had entrapped London. He asked to speak with Phil, Dan’s husband. Not long after, Phil proceeded to never speak again. Before Death welcomed him home, he spoke one last time to Dan. He pushed the curls out of his eyes and told him he’d be waiting by the ocean where he always longed to be. The tides would change but Phil would wait for Dan and when he arrived the ocean would head at bay. Then death stole his last breath. And Phil was gone. 

 

Dan grew a numbness inside him, a feeling of grief like none other he had felt before. Death had been so patient with him, sparing his family and friends. But he knew death was not kind, so death took the most important person of all. Leaving him feeling like half of a man without his husband. Just the shell of a person he once knew, calling for death to take him too. Praying he could see his husband just once more. Calling for death to take him to the ocean where the seagull sang and the waves crashed. Where Dan would call and Phil would answer. But he was left for weeks to grieve before there was any sign of him joining Phil. He was left to feel nothing and everything all at once. To feel a numbing pain that boggled his mind and drove him insane. 

 

Dan knew it wouldn’t take long for Death to seek him out as well. Just the same he was ready, half of himself was already lost to this raid of a plague. So he sat and waited and watched the way the birds moved with the trees. So unaware of the chaos below them. So unprepared for the world at which they would once again be able to freely roam without fear. 

 

Death had made his appearance once again in Dan’s life. He thought about how it felt to hold Death’s hand as he watched the forest. He laid back in the soil. He could feel it wrap around his back and in his scalp. Dan grabbed a handful of dirt, he held it above his chest and watched as it fell upon him. The remaining soil on his hand masked and blended with Death’s hand. Dan could no longer tell his blackened veins from the dirt settling in the curve of his palm and under his nails. 

 

He could feel that he was growing ever closer to seeing Phil. He could feel his date with Death coming to a fortunate end. Death would bring him home, and Phil would be there. Dan imagined what the sand of a beach would feel like beneath him rather than the cold and wet earth. He believed it to be warm, he liked to believe they would meet just after midnight. That was when they parted and Dan would love to pick up where they left off. Pick up in a new life, a real forever, as they had always promised one another. 

 

The promise of forever they made as teenagers unsure of the future, as business partners unsure of their plan, and as lovers who knew forever wouldn’t be enough time to love one another to their fullest potential. Soon they would be able to promise each other forever and mean it. Death would bring Dan to a beach where Phil would be waiting, and they would continue to work on their forever. No matter how scary the prospect was to Dan, he felt ready.

 

For the first time since Dan had settled on the forest floor, the wind had halted. No breeze, no deafening gusts, just silence. The sun had found its way through the layers of green, the leaves no longer flickered, they sat still and the sun highlighted Dan’s face. His fears were erased by such a simple comfort of the sunshine. He would love to believe his lover wanted his last moments on this version of the earth to be a comforting one. So he let the sunshine on his face as he felt Death approach him one final time. He let his fears be erased and he let himself bask in the comfort of the sun. One everlasting and final memory on this earth. And just like that, laying on the forest floor, sunlight sweeping over his body through the thick forest canopy, no music but the soft song of the Canaries, Dan was gone. Death had welcomed him home to the earth, to Eden, to forever.

* * *

 

 

When Dan woke, it was warmer than he expected it to be. The ground no longer felt stiff, damp and cold like the soil he had left. It was soft and warm. It moved and shifted as he did. It comforted him and made him feel more at home then he had in weeks. 

 

The sound was the next sense to appear. He could hear the song of a seagull in the distance, it was different than the canary who sang to be listened to. The seagull called, seeking an answer. He could also hear water running over the rocks. Small and gentle waves crashed softly against the surface of the earth. They were so close to dan but he couldn’t open his eyes to see them or get up to touch them, he fought for it. Desperately trying to see the body of water so close to him, but was so far away without his vision. 

 

Once he relaxed back into the sand, after a desperate attempt to indulge in the waters, his eyes began to open. To his surprise, he wasn’t met with the harsh golden light of the sun, but rather the soft glow of the full moon and dozens of little stars illuminating the blackness of the night sky. Although it was dark it wasn’t cold

 

Dan then began to move his fingers. Motion coming back slowly, starting in his fingers and toes and all at once he had motion back in his whole body. He rolled himself up into a sitting position, and his breath was taken away. 

 

There in the dark of night was the ocean, expanding into an everlasting horizon with no end in sight. The ocean that expanded far into forever, that was there long before Dan and would remain long after. Standing right at the water’s edge was a figure so familiar to Dan. A tall, slender, and soft man who he knew so well stood so close to him. The heaviness he had felt for weeks had felt as if it was never there. The piece of him that was missing was whole again. 

 

Dan scrambled to his feet and had to take a moment. The way he sank into the warm sand was so comforting, it slowed him down and readied him for this moment to be reunited. He walked slowly towards his husband. The walk, which was really only a few meters, had felt like forever. Before Dan’s brain could connect to his limbs he reached out for Phil. As his hand grazed the older man’s shoulder he watched Phil physically relax. 

 

“You’re here,” Phil said, barely above a whisper.

 

“I am and I’ve missed you,” 

 

“You don’t even know how much I’ve longed for you, Dan.” 

 

For the first time in what felt like forever, but really had only been a few weeks, they looked at one another. His features hadn’t changed much, Dan was sure he hadn’t either. It hadn’t been long since they’d seen one another. The only difference now was that fear didn't encapsulate their mindset and Death didn’t grip their hand as if to claim them as his own. They noticed the lack of Death’s touch and their hands met one another. Desperately trying to wash away what was once there and what it represented. They needed to replace it with love and endearment, to make up for lost time. 

 

Tears began to fill Dan’s eyes. 

 

“You’re really here, you really waited.” 

 

“It’s the first night the ocean hasn’t roared since I’ve been here. The tide is finally at bay,” 

 

“Just like you promised,” Dan smiled. 

 

“Always,” Phil whispered, placing his forehead on Dan’s. 

 

Dan closed his eyes and their lips brushed against one another. He could feel the sharpness of Phil’s nose pushing into his cheek. The way their stubble brushed against one another’s in such a familiar way. The softness of their lips when they touched. It wasn’t heated or rushed. It was soft and welcoming, like the first sunrise after a fierce storm. Their kiss was short-lived in the least disappointing way. It was a greeting to an eternity together. 

 

The two men decided to sit and watch the tide roll down the beach and out into the world. They sat for hours, just enjoying the sounds of the ocean and the company of one another. As promised Death brought them home. Brought them to one another, where they would be able to have the forever they previously longed for. 

 

For now, they had each other, and the ocean. They had a moment to indulge before the rest of where ever they had ended up would begin. They didn’t know much, they knew that they loved each other and that one would no longer have to live without the other. That was enough for them to enjoy the start of this moment. 

 

This moment where the ocean is calm and the tide is at bay.

 

_**fin.** _

 


End file.
